The present invention relates generally to decorative license plate frames, and more particularly, to an custom decorative license plate frame and a method and apparatus for making the same.
Decorative license plate frames are popular among motorists who like to add a personal touch to their vehicle. They are also a very popular and inexpensive form of advertisement. For example, vehicle dealers and repair shops often provide license plate frames to their customers listing the facility name and telephone number. But the application isn""t limited to vehicle related advertisers as any business may benefit from displaying its name, telephone number, web address, or other information on business and personal vehicles alike. Still others, not wanting to potentially damage the finish of their vehicle using a bumper sticker, use their license plate frames for sending messages or making a personal or political statement.
Most decorative license plate frames available on the market today have a monochromatic molded frame blank onto which text and graphics are molded or screen printed. In this regard, specialized molds or printing screens are created and utilized to print images and text onto the blank. This process proves to be beneficial where a large number of identical frames are desired. This may be the case, for example, for a car dealer who wishes to have a custom frame placed on each vehicle it sells or services and therefore requires a large number of identical frames. However, this process requires the creation of a custom made and specialized mold or printing screen making it impractical for making low quantity, custom decorated license plate frames.
Another process for making decorative license plate frames uses a blank monochromatic frame onto which either printed or engraved inserts are bonded. This process offers the advantage that the inserts may be custom printed or engraved allowing a degree of flexibility in design in the final frame design. Use of inserts may offer some flexibility for creating unique frames, however, the process is hampered by the required bonding process. Moreover, with time the adhesive may fail allowing the insert to dislocate from the frame.
As uniquely as individuals want their vehicles to be in design, they want to be able to display messages and images/graphics, advertise or simply further decorate and distinguish their vehicles. While offering great potential to satisfy this need for motorists, decorative license plate frames remain hampered in that they are not readily or easily customized. Therefore, there remains a need for a unitary custom decorative license plate frame and a method and apparatus for making the same.
The present invention provides a license plate frame which may be custom designed and decorated to an individuals unique specification. The license plate frame is a laminate having a molded base of a first color and a lamination of a contrasting color. Engraving areas are mapped onto the frame and engraving data is scaled to fit the engraving areas. The engraving data represents custom messages, designs and/or graphics for each particular and uniquely created frame. The engraving data is translated to cutting data for driving an engraving machine. The frame is engraved using the cutting data so that the base color is exposed through the lamination revealing the custom message.
The present invention also provides a method of making a custom decorated license plate frame. A graphic user interface is used to input user defined text messages and graphic designs. The data is scaled and mapped to engraving areas defined on a license plate frame blank frame. The scaled data is then translated into cutting data. The blank license plate frame, having a base color and a contrasting lamination, is secured to an engraving tool. The cutting data is used to drive the engraving tool to engrave the custom message/design into the license plate frame. The engraving process exposes the base color under the lamination, and hence, the message/design in the frame.
Still other features and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the attached drawings.